First Day of School

What are your first day of school activities?

There's a lot of debate about what is the right thing to do on the first day of school. In high school the first day of school usually means passing out a syllabus and talking about your rules, routines, and consequences. And that's fine. And for the first few years of teaching that's what I did. I printed a syllabus. We did one icebreaker, usually the classroom bingo activity. And then we talked about the syllabus for 45 minutes. Now when I was feeling creative, I had an activity that went with that. One year I did a scavenger hunt about the important parts of my classroom. Some years I even had a test on the syllabus.

Routines are good. Structure is good. But as I continue on in my years as a teacher, I realize that the important things, the things that matter, don't really have anything to do with routines.

So what matters to me? I want my students to be excited about school and learning and math. I want them to understand that our classroom is a safe space. I want them to talk to each other and to me about what they think, and what they understand. I want them, on that first day, to realize that our classroom can be a new start for them. I want them to be bold and unafraid in my class. I want them to be learners.

My first day of school is the only day that I plan minute to minute. I think about what I am doing and what my students are doing at any given time. I script what I'm going to say, I organize all the paper I'm going to pass out, how my students are coming in the classroom to how I'm passing out supplies. I organize every aspect of that day so that it runs smoothly for me and for them and by doing that I'm able to give my students a peace of mind that when they are in this classroom, that there is order and organization. But that order and organization allows us to do the things that we need to do for that day.

The end result isn't order and organization.

The end goal showing them that I care about them and that who they are and what they think matters.